


Pardon the Red

by booktick



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Atlas CEO Rhys, Blood Kink, Bruises, Choking, Dubious Consent, Enemies to Lovers, Hate Sex, Jack is Jack, M/M, Maybe blood kink???, Rhys is not a nice guy either, Rough Sex, Then back to enemies, Voyeurism, breath play
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-13 15:48:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/booktick/pseuds/booktick
Summary: Atlas and Hyperion meet to exchange words regarding a project on Pandora, however, things do not end well.





	Pardon the Red

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own none of this franchise.
> 
> A/N: I have no idea what this is. The POV and tense(s) are all over the place.

* * *

The meeting had been carrying on for over four hours. This had been four hours of back and forths between the CEOs mostly, the rest of those unfortunately present didn't get so much as a peep in. When they did, they were quickly shut down either by Handsome Jack's threats of airlock or by Rhys' cold stares--none knew which were worse to be honest.

Around the fourth hour, that was when things got really interesting and obscene. Jack had thrown out a vulgar comment regarding the Atlas CEO's love life, which resulted in Rhys hacking into a robot that carried coffee and having said coffee spill over Handsome Jack's new shoes--100% Skag and just as horrendous to look at. Jack had not taken kindly to that, not that he took kindly to many things. And that was how they ended up where they were now...stuck in a loop of comments that had little to do with the project on Pandora now, and more on each other's personal...interests.

"You know, _kitten_ , you don't have to drag your Atlas lackeys onto my space station just to get a fresh cup of Jack."

"The _last_ thing I want from you, Jack," The Atlas CEO snapped, "is you."

"So you agree. You do want me." It wasn't so much a question than a taunt.

That earned Jack a slap across the face, with the Atlas made hand attached to the Atlas made arm that Rhys had. It would leave a bruise. It would leave a nasty one in fact. There was a rush of murmurs and then silence among the rest of the faces in the room.

Jack lifted his head, since the slap had made his whole body turn, and fixed his hate onto the face of Atlas. Those eyes never left Rhys' and vice versa. Slowly, as well as quietly, did each member--save for the two battling CEOs--of the board room crawl out. The last one to go clutched the folders for the project on Pandora to their chest as though it was a safety net, the only thing keeping them alive. With how things were going, that could be possibly true.

"You think you're somethin' real special, don't you, Rhys?" Jack's voice had lowered an octave, " _You think we're equals_."

"Equals. Never, Jack." Rhys did step back though, his hand over the obnoxiously large table of the board room, "You'd have to actually show up for work instead of chasing bandits to even take the first step towards becoming an equal with me."

_Well, fuck._

Rhys was fast with his words but Jack was faster with his hands. The Atlas CEO was grabbed, fingernails dug into Rhys' wrists, and shoved down onto the boardroom table. His head bounced with how hard Jack pinned him down. A knee tried to catch the masked man--which Jack had anticipated, as the man's own knees came down on Rhys' legs. The weight was heavy and it made Rhys' stomach churn.

He had known full well that Jack didn't like stabs to that pride of his--Rhys had fucking jabbed the blade in deep. Jack leaned down, their noses almost brushed together...almost. The heat of Jack's breath began to warm Rhys' cheeks, which had him wrinkle his nose in disgust. The very presence of Jack was enough to make him irritated, now being touched by him too? That was pure and utter filth. He would have to take a dozen showers to get the scent off him, even then it would lurk in the back of his head no matter what he did. That was the problem with Handsome Jack...he never went away once contact was made.

"You look cute like this, baby," Gross. "Maybe I should keep you chained to the table, let you wiggle around for the rest of the board until you di-"

Jack didn't even get to finish his sentence by the time Rhys' inner furnace was lit. What he had felt before? That was nothing compared to now. As Rhys' sneer grew into something much darker, spit landed on Jack's mask. It slid down, thick and wet, down the man's nose and lips.

It had been one of Rhys' greatest achievements if he was being honest. Jack's eyes were stuck on Rhys' and he didn't even blink for a good couple of moments. It was as if this was the first time the Hyperion CEO had been startled...ever. Rhys' lips curled up though only a fraction.

As much as Rhys enjoyed the look of bewilderment on Jack's face, he still needed to get the upper hand and this wasn't it. Not yet. It took probably another few breaths before Jack put both of Rhys' wrists into one hand's grip. His free hand reached up, wiped the spit from his mask and shook his head off to the side. Not once did Jack look away from Rhys' face, not even to take notice of the crowd gathering outside the boardroom now.

The air in the room was starting to get thicker. It was getting harder to ignore it.

 _Damn it._  
"Looks good on you, Jack," Rhys panted, out of breath due to the brief struggle, "Looks like it suits you."

Without a reply, and without noise, Jack reached out and grabbed him by his throat. Both hands now aiming for the easiest and fastest thing to bruise at the moment, and second hardest to cover up from prying eyes. The hands were larger than Rhys', could easily wrap around his throat. Everything felt like it was starting to get tighter and tighter and the room wasn't as cool anymore. He immediately reached out himself, his hands at Jack's wrists. His hips sprung up, an attempt to buck Jack off of him.

...maybe it wasn't such a brief struggle after all.

It takes too long for Rhys to get even half way turned away from Jack. An arm tried to worm its' way around his waist anyway, to get some form of a grip on the wiggling Atlas CEO. Rhys squirmed as much as he could under Jack, his legs kicked out and his arms reached to try and grab a near by tablet. Probably to bash in Jack's face in. The nose that pressed against his throat was enough to make him gag to be honest. It was the teeth that scraped along the sensitive flesh that had Rhys' fingers curl into his palms and into the shape of fists.

His eyebrows narrowed, knitted together now in rage at the situation and at Jack most of all. How dare this Hyperion piece of shit try and pin him down like this and in front of not all those Hyperion assholes but his own people from Atlas. His back was to Jack when his head came back in a swift motion, and if there was a thing such as hope, it'd slam right into Jack's nose. The alpha's curses under breath were enough to let him know that he had hit his target. Wet met his throat and before the scent reached his nose he knew it was blood from that same now bruised nose of Jack's.

_Good._

_That's what you fucking get, you bastard._

Jack grabbed Rhys by the scruff now, his free hand moved to that same head that just bashed in his nose. Fingers curled into the locks of hair and pulled and pulled _hard._ Some of the strands were pulled out from the force, it hurt but it wasn't terrible. Rhys knew pain. This was nothing compared to what he had endured, as if Jack could even reach those heights. But, Rhys still yelped in hushed tones and tried to pull his head free. It was no use, Jack yanked again and waited. A warning maybe, a hint that he should back down. But this was Atlas. This was Rhys.

There would be no settlement, not for the project on Pandora or for...whatever this relationship was with him and Jack.

Not today anyway.

"Fuck you." Rhys murmured.

"Oh," Jack began, teeth at Rhys' ear, "What a great idea, Rhysie."

There was that horrible nickname again. It wasn't even clever.

But before Rhys could think much more on his nickname or the fingers fisting his hair, he was shoved up further on the table, on his back again. His head tried to tilt back as far as he could, which wasn't far thanks to Jack. His eyes lifted to the bare walls of the boardroom, glass imported straight from Pandora itself. The eyes of his employees and a variety of Hyperion lackeys stared back at him. Some lifted their tablets with shaking hands, a few to simply cover their eyes and others...well, judging from the flashes he assumed they were taking pictures. Jack would either find if funny or would airlock them within a week after this. He didn't know which he preferred but, hell, Jack was good with surprises. It would be satisfying either way, even if only a little. He needed something out of all... _this_...

Two sets of something hitting floor were heard. It jogged Rhys' thoughts back to what he felt rather than what he saw, no matter how briefly. How did his boots-oh no! His feet were now bare from his boots, mixmatched socks were the only thing that protected his feet from Helios. After he realized his boots were discarded, fabric scratched at his legs as Jack's thumb hooked inside his jeans and pulled down. He struggled, even now, to try and get another shot in on Jack.

The bloodier Jack looked though, the more the Hyperion CEO looked...excited. After his jeans were fully disposed of like his boots, Jack had him twisted him into a new position. It was hard to tell what Jack was doing from this angle, being on his stomach and all. It was difficult to focus on so much thanks to...well...Jack. From the corner of his eyes, he caught glimpses of Jack's smug mug and crooked nose, another thing that would need fixed on the mask. It was all he could really see of the Hyperion jackass' face currently.

"Jack-"

"Oh, you don't gotta be so formal," Jack hummed, "Sir's fine. Or Daddy if you're into shit like that." A wink followed the obscene comment.

Jack was taking far too much pleasure in this, then again anything with humiliation made the Hyperion man happy. That is, if Jack was the one doing the humiliating. Other way around, Jack ended up strangling them and taking over the company. Just ask Tassiter.

He barely has time to think of a good comeback when Jack's fingers slip to his ass. His heart jumps into his throat and decides to take home there. It's hard to swallow, its hard to breathe.

The crowd outside the boardroom stares back at him when he looks again. They blur into one huge mass, it isn't a variety...it's just one huge massive Hyperion yellow. It's awful. He had to blink several times before his vision cleared. The crowd hasn't changed. Hyperion yellow devours his Atlas few and all murmur to each other. There's no doubt what their topic of today's gossip will be. He'll be surprised if the bandits on Pandora don't hear about this one.

"At least one of us has a good idea." Rhys managed to mumble out, a reply to Jack's earlier stab.

Jack doesn't reply like he didn't when Rhys spat in his face. A verbal spat can be just as hurtful or insulting as a physical one. Jack should know. Jack's literally stabbed over a few dozen, it'd be more accurate to say hundreds judging from how Jack was running Hyperion. All these thoughts though, all these thoughts and that was all that Rhys could come up with to say.

The words catch in his throat after that, and it's more involuntary reactions to Jack's touches after that. The way the fingers slip between his cheeks and stroke only make the noises louder.

Rhys could kill Jack for this.

In fact, he just might try to after this. It wasn't like he hadn't tried before and vice versa.

"Jack-" Rhys groaned, his tongue wet his lips "Don't-"

"You're not getting that spot on Pandora, kiddo," Jack whispered in his ear, " _Not even if you are a good fuck_."

_Oh._

With all the power he could muster, even with all the pleasure that had wrapped around inside his stomach, his whole body bucked against Jack. It was enough to get the older man to lose concentration and for Rhys to turn around in his grip, though not enough to actually wiggle out from under Jack. His hand caught a tablet and just as he had fantasized about earlier, it struck Jack's face. There was an audible crack, with a series of hisses and _ooohs_ from the crowd formed outside. The tablet itself whined and the screen fluttered in protest of the action. Hyperion really needed to upgrade their hardware.

Jack hissed on his own, hands went to his face and there was a visible mark on the side of the mask. Jack would really need to get it fixed later. That wouldn't be easy and it wouldn't be quick. A few Hyperion doctors might even lose their lives over the matter. All because of Rhys. And all Rhys could think was: _Good_. His lips curled up more than they had before, his eyes settled on the mark. That wouldn't be easy to cover up for at least a day. Rhys would get his mark same as Jack would on him if that was how Jack wanted to play.

"Maybe I was wrong, Jack," Rhys let his head fall back against the table, much gentler than Jack had done for him earlier.

Rhys bit at his lower lip for a moment, still grinning at the marks he left on _poor_ Handsome Jack.

"I _do_ want you. Correction. I want you to _hurt_." Well, suffer would have sounded cruel. Though it would have been accurate.

Jack wiped his mouth with the back of his hand before he laughed in hushed tones, " _Ohhhh._ I am gonna mark you up for a _loooong_ time," Blood stained Jack's knuckles, " _You are gonna hurt something fierce after this, Rhys_."

His heart grew within his throat, pounded in protest of Jack's words. It didn't matter. Jack grabbed Rhys' hips, fingers pressed deep into flesh and nails dug until blood started to drip down those thighs. Rhys whined, hands going to protect himself instinctively. Even with a mechanical hand, he couldn't get Jack off of him.

He gasped louder than he had meant to when Jack dragged him even down a bit further. The shadow of Handsome Jack spread over Rhys like a storm. He hadn't noticed before but stains littered his jeans, not that he could see it that well. His thighs were pressed together even as Jack's nails dug into his hips, those same thighs were as wet as his spit had been. Though, in this instance, it wasn't as satisfying personally to Rhys. A certain sort of heat did begin to take root with his ribs at the realization nonetheless.

"You should really be careful, Rhys," Jack took the chance and leaned down real close like before, " _I'm not a nice guy._ "

"Wouldn't be here if you were, Jack." Rhys whispered, his pride now replaced with something...not so unfamiliar. 

His insides burned brighter, from what was originally a candlelight was now a fire. His fingers curled at the heat that began to slither around inside. This didn't change anything on how he felt about Jack. Even if he did get the itch with the man every now and again. Jack was an asshole with a nice dick.

Besides all of the above, Jack wasn't exactly mate potential, nonethless a business partner. His mind crawled back to what was the origin of this whole ridiculous situation, to him on a boardroom table and exposed to what was probably half of Hyperion now with the CEO on him like this was a heated rut. Jack always wanted what wasn't his to begin with. Atlas had every right to have their portion of Pandora. This project had nothing to do with Hyperion or Eridium yet Jack stepped in at the last minute. Jack wanted what every typical self centered alpha wanted: _everything_. 

As if he'd let Jack in on his project on Pandora, and it was _his_ \--dick or no dick.

It didn't stop his hips from rocking up against the Hyperion fiend. His back even arched. He hadn't done that in a while, not even with that cute Atlas accountant. His nails scraped across the table, giving up on trying to shove Jack off of him. When the back of his hand found Jack's hair, he pulled the man in closer until their mouths crashed together and his fingers fisted greying locks.

Jack had been right.

Jack was  _not_ nice.

Teeth bit down on Rhys' tongue until he winced. Rust covered the inside of his mouth and the stinging sensation was unwelcomed. It wasn't as fun when Jack did it out of spite. His nails dug into Jack's hair harder, so that his nails reached scalp, soon after his other hand joined in on the fun. He was sure there would be quite a few torn strands in his palms when he let go.  _If_ he let go. While his hands busied with Jack's hair, Jack had started to touch wherever there was bare flesh and he wasn't careful at all.

Knuckles pressed against Rhys' hips and dragged along his pubic hair until it met the base of his shaft. Rhys' hips jerked at the touch. It had...tickled. Not that he would be admitting such things outloud and nonethless to Jack of all people. His eyes tried to search, to get a better look--the crowd outside must have had a great view. His curiosity met Jack's own open flame, a tent that popped around the third or fourth hour but Rhys hadn't paid attention or cared to.

"How exactly do you plan to do anything with being fully clothed and all,  _John._ "

Now that...

That had been pushing it probably. 

Jack's pants were torn with how carelessly they were shoved down. The room was definitely and currently full of nothing but...whatever they were. It would stain both of them until one of them died and maybe not even then. It takes a few exchanges of heavy panting and yelps before a heaviness found Rhys' bare thighs. Rhys' legs jerked hard enough that his knee banged against the table. The touch burned him. It must have. Jack was not even in the general radius of fucking around. 

"Fuck-" Rhys choked on his own breath.

"I am." Jack ignored it.

The heat is put off balance by the cold of Jack's rings against his legs. The cock at his thighs left as Jack had grasped himself and pressed against Rhys again. A hard pressure was felt between his just as slicked cheeks now, he would need to get his clothing cleaned later. Maybe he'd just burn the clothes. He did need a new pair of shoes. Something...new.

"Jack, don-" but a hand left Jack's hair, a palm pressed flat against Jack's chest "Don't fucking cum inside me."

"Promises are cheap, Rhys." _like your company's products_  was left unsaid but not unheard.

Jack had a knack for quick retorts, same as Rhys. It's what started a majority of their arguements to begin with, often ending un bloodshed or fucking. Either way, in the end, Rhys always took a shower. His mouth would never not taste of Jack, no matter how many coffees he had or cigarettes he burned. Bad habits, just like Jack. Speaking of Jack, it was his mouth that captured Rhys', though only for a moment before he pulled back some to look down at Rhys. 

Rhys stared, eyes wandered Jack's and his mouth remained open with a silent question. The Hyperion man doesn't add in another jab as he grabs a handful of Rhys' ass and drives home his point, until he bottoms out inside Rhys. Rhys' head tilted back again, eyes shut briefly but flashes of light scatter his eyelids. It was flashes from outside. Fucking greedy-

Jack wasted no time in thrusting again. He pulled back from Rhys just barely, his cock slid in with another pop. The wet of it all made Rhys' stomach jump a few times. His previous meals for the day were now a threat as they tickled his throat. The sour on his tongue doesn't help. He turned his head away from Jack, a mistake since it left his throat bare. Teeth caught where it could, which was everywhere, and started to leave a litter of hues.

Rhys whined louder at the next thrust, called out to whatever was out there in universe. Helios continued to hum as response and refused to budge--physically and verbally. Space did not answer him back and the stars remained hung in the darkness. It was as if no one seemed interested in what he had felt about all this. It was a nice show for everyone: Jack and Rhys. 

The remainder of fingers in Jack's hair left and went to the CEO's back, digging themselves in there instead. The fabric of Jack's jacket was worn out, battered from fighting bandits and himself. Rhys tore at the fabric with a vengeance each time Jack thrusted. The burn pushed at him inside, a reminder. His hips lifted to meet Jack's each time.

"You _owe_ me." He huffs as Jack sucks on his throat, another mark added.

Jack didn't answer, at least with words anyway. It was mostly grunts and pants that smothered Rhys' ears from Jack. Rhys kept his eyes shut this time, even with the occasional flashes from outside the room. The table shook on occasion, a few remaining tablets fell onto the floor. Somebody should have been more cautious. This was Helios after all. One didn't just leave their things laying around, especially with Handsome Jack as CEO. It was Rhys' tablet that fell soon after his judgement and he blamed Hyperion for that as well. Why not?

"Oh-" Rhys' toes curled, "Harder-"

The table moved again as Jack pulled away, going to his knees. Rhys let his eyes open partially, to watch as Jack grabbed under him and lifted his hips up. The way Jack moved was without care and reason, the pace was erratic to say the least. Each time Jack's slid in, he could feel him in his chest. He pushed at his stomach with one hand, the other now flat on the table. Jack pulled both of Rhys' legs over his shoulders, teeth sunk into both calves within a scatter of breaths. Rhys tried to pull away, it earned him a hand to his throat. Somehow Jack kept up the panicked pace even as they both grunted away.

Rhys' hand slid down his stomach to his own cock, fingers steadily climbing from the base and his thumb pressed the tip. He wasn't sure when his own hard on came, it hadn't been within the third or fourth four that much was sure. It could have been when he spat in Jack's face. That was always fun. Humiliation was fun...when it was someone else and especially when it was someone he was disgusted by.

"Touching yourself, Rhys?" Jack asked, " _So needy."_

Despite Jack's comment, Rhys' hand began to move on himself, unsure at first and far more careful than Jack ever was or could be probably. It was hard to focus on more than Jack. He tried to meet the thrusts, to keep it in time with something that had no time or reason. He decided to let his thumb move in small circled on the tip, teasing the flesh each time Jack hit bottom. He could feel it though. Exactly what he said, what he  _told_ Jack not to do. A swelling inside of him that bumped against him with each thrust from Jack. He tried to lift himself up with his own hand but the one on his throat pinned him back down.

The grip on his throat was like the thrusts. Merciless. He was almost sure Jack was attempting to kill him via sex. He was not about to let himself to be the front page of some cheap gossip magazine with his death recorded as  _Dicked2Death._ He reached for the hand on his throat but it was useless. Jack pushed down until he couldn't breathe. It was when his vision began to blur that his insides screamed. He let his hand fall away from Jack's, fall back against the table. The burn spread through him rapidly. His other hand left his now softening cock, to fall back on the table like the other had. Jack was... _fuzzy_ now. All yellows and grey. The swelling inside pulls back after a moment but he's too lost to notice or care really.

Rhys was beyond all of that. Thanks to Jack. 

Jack cried out and his hands finally slipped away from Rhys. The legs over the Hyperion's shoulders fell off with a thud. He collapsed on the string bean of a man, his lips pressed against Rhys' marked up throat. His thumb reached, stroked a few of the marks. The action could have been mistakened for affection. A round of soft gasps and murmurs from the group outside rose in the air. Jack and Rhys did not move to even give them a courtesy stare or flip of the bird.

Jack, personally, was feeling  _great._

 _Who- _oh_ ," _Jack laughed, "Thought I was gonna tie you to there, huh? Maybe next time, sweetness." His hand slid up and down Rhys' just as bruised thigh, his palm now wet from the slick.

The duo remained on the table in the aftermath of their mess. Both their eyes were now shut. It was Jack that was breathing and it took Jack probably a good minute or so before he noticed Rhys wasn't giving a smart remark. Jack lifted his head, tilted his head and huffed, as if it were an inconvenience rather than a worry or concern. A big hand reached, patted the Atlas head's cheek a lot harder than was needed. The next time it slapped with a loud  _pap._

"Hey, kid. _Hey_ ," Jack hummed, "As funny as your face looked when I was strangling the shit out of you--which was pretty great if I wanna brag and all--but, uh,  _wake the hell up_."

The next slap is harder. 

"Oh-!"

Rhys' eyes fluttered opened and breath filled his lungs again. His vision returned to him and he remembered where he was. Had he fainted? He couldn't recall. He turned his head to look at Jack, eyelids drooped out of exhaustion. He seemed at a lost for words at first, simply staring and breathing. Jack was ready to go for round two when a hand caught him by surprise. Rhys' hand went to his battered throat, rubbed as gently as he could manage. It would be a long recovery. He would need to postpone travel to Pandora.

Oh. Which reminded him...

"Opportunity is a shitty name for a project on Pandora anyway." It was gonna be _his_ anyway.


End file.
